The name "ThurnTaxis" is in reference to the first European postal service and also the postal service in Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49, a post-modern novel that expresses the human need for certainty in value. The ThurnTaxis exchange often disqualifies notions of certainty, in exchange for fluctuation, subjectivity and relational dialogue. The experience begins with the choice of a significant object. Participants then make a brief introductory record of its specific energies and value and allow it to circulate within the group in four one-week intervals, exchanging objects and their logs at select site specific locations in Manhattan. The exchange culminates in a gathering where participants reflect on the process of looking at objects and the reading and writing of their histories. This discussion confronts themes such as the many modalities of value, communication, collectivity, memory, and loss.
